Calls For Rand Paul's Arrest After Walking Out Of Senate Trial

#ArrestRandPaul began trending on Twitter Thursday after the Republican senator from Kentucky left the Senate in protest of Chief Justice John Roberts’ decision to censor his impeachment trial question.

Paul originally clashed with Roberts and fellow Republicans after submitting a question to be read aloud by the chief justice during the trial this week. The question was rejected Wednesday, however, after Roberts said that he will not read any questions containing the name of the alleged whistleblower.

When Roberts failed to read Rand’s question on Thursday, Paul walked out of the Senate. Once outside, Paul read his question to reporters before tweeting out the text. The tweets included the name of the alleged whistleblower.

Paul wrote that his question concerned his belief that Democrats had been conspiring “with Schiff staffers to plot impeaching the President before there were formal House impeachment proceedings.”

After Paul’s walkout, users on Twitter began using the hashtag #ArrestRandPaul, accusing the Kentucky senator of violating the Whistleblower Protection Act by publicly disclosing the name of the alleged whistleblower.

One user tweeted that Paul “should be in handcuffs right this moment.”

Another expressed similar sentiments, tweeting that “no one is above the law.”

It’s also possible Paul’s actions could be in violation of the trial rules. The rules, agreed upon before the impeachment trial began, include some odd provisions for Senators’ behavior, including only having water or milk to drink. Unsurprisingly, causing any form of disruption could also be a breach of the rules. As punishment, those who violate the rules face the possibility of being jailed on the order of the chief justice.

In reality, though, a Senator has never been jailed over such breaches of decorum; at worse, Rand will likely face a formal rebuke from Roberts.

Last year an anonymous individual in the intelligence community filed a complaint accusing President Donald Trump of seeking to withhold military aid intended for Ukraine in exchange for that country opening an investigation into his political rivals.

Since the Senate’s impeachment trial began, some Republicans have floated the idea of calling their own witnesses for testimony. One of their top choices for subpoena would likely be the alleged whistleblower, who Paul and other Republicans have continually argued as being motivated by political bias against the president.